First modification: 08/08/2021 – 12:34
Yokohama (Japan) (AFP)
The recipe: promises like Julio Rodríguez, a top prospect in the Major League system, and long-time players like José Bautista, Melky Cabrera or Juan Francisco. The result: the Dominican Republic rose to the Olympic baseball podium for the first time.
“Super happy that we have been able to make that ‘mix’ that gave us the opportunity to win a medal,” Héctor Borg, manager of the Caribbean country, the largest exporter of baseball players with a major league seal, told AFP.
With the Major League Baseball (MLB) season underway at the same time as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games baseball, in which Japan won gold, the United States, silver, and the Dominican Republic, bronze, restrictions on the Loan players were a huge obstacle when it came to making the teams.
– Elite prospect –
Negotiations for young talent brought good news to the Dominican when Rodriguez, considered a Top-5 among MLB prospects and belonging to the Seattle Mariners, got permission.
“We did a hard job getting those permits, a well-prepared job (…). Julio’s disposition helped us. From day one he was willing to help us, represent the Dominican Republic, and spoke personally with the authorities (from the Mariners), the president, the general manager, “Borg remarked.
Since the qualifiers, “their participation has made a difference,” he added.
Rodriguez, a 20-year-old outfielder promoted by Seattle to its AA branch in 2021, had 10 hits in 24 at-bats (.417) in six games in Tokyo-2020, with a home run, double, four RBIs and three runs scored.
When making his debut, in conversation with the AFP, the patrolman was clear: “If not (we could win a medal), we would not be here.”
While screening on the basis of six commitments is trivial, Borg finds the Olympic internship valuable for young people like him. “You see the stress of having to win every day. In the minor leagues, when you are at low levels, the direction that organizations give you is development, development, development. When you come to the Olympics, you come to win. a medal, “says the manager.
The Dominican Republic took five medals in Tokyo-2020: three silver and two bronze.
– Leadership –
Borg highlighted “the disposition, seriousness and leadership” of pieces with a great league past such as Bautista, Cabrera or Francisco.
On Saturday, in the Dominican Republic’s 10×6 win over South Korea that decided the bronze, Francisco was crucial.
The 34-year-old slugger, a bigleaguer from 2009 to 2014, struck out in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, but in the eighth he reached the plate again with the pads loaded … and did not miss.
After a wild pitch produced a hairline, his double against the center field wall produced two more. He had already homered in the first act.
“The years that he has in the game give him the ability to make adjustments from one shift to another, from one pitch to another,” analyzed Borg, who stressed that Francisco had to face an inflammation in his right foot.
“He was playing injured the entire tournament. It is a thing to admire that a player plays you with his heart and does not let pain take away his goal,” he added.
Baseball reappeared in Tokyo-2020 after its exclusion in London-2012 and Rio de Janeiro-2016. It will leave the Olympic program again in Paris-2024.
© 2021 AFP
